It’s that time of year again. Christmas is well and truly over, the New Year feels no different from the previous one and the weather is still miserable. So cheer you and the family up this January with this succulent slow cooked pork in a rich cream sauce with herbs, apples and apple brandy. Delicious served with creamy mashed potatoes, steamed greens and some crusty bread. Get your cookware at the ready and indulge in the perfect meal to feed those January blues.

Ingredients  

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 175g (6oz) smoked bacon cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 250g (9oz) small shallots peeled
• 1 ¼ kg (2lb 12oz) pork shoulder (trimmed of skin) 3cm (1 ¼ inch) diced
• 60ml (¼ cup) calvados (apple brandy)
• 2 sticks of celery diced
• 2 crisp, sharp eating apples peeled and diced (granny smith or similar variety)
• 2 teaspoons coarse grain mustard
• 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh sage, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 750ml (3 cups) pork or vegetable stock
• 100ml crème fraîche
• 2 tablespoons of cornflour mixed with 100ml (½ cup) water

To finish

• 1 small knob butter
• 8 fresh sage leaves

Method

Oven: 170ºC / 325ºF / Gas Mark 3, pre-heated

Fan Oven: 150ºC

Heat the oil in the casserole on the hob over a medium heat, add the bacon and cook until crisp. Drain the cooked bacon into a dish retaining the oil in the casserole.

Add the butter to the oil and cook the shallots until nicely browned. Add the pork a little at a time, allowing each batch to colour slightly before adding the next.   

Once all the meat has been added and coloured pull the pan away from the heat. Pour over the calvados and carefully ignite, standing well back until the flames subside.

Place the pan back over the heat, add the celery, chopped apple, mustard, pepper, herbs and stock, stir well to release any caramelized pieces from the base. Bring to a gentle simmer, place on the lid and transfer to the oven to cook for 2 hours.   

Skim away the excess fat from the top of the casserole and discard. Stir in the cream fraîche along with the cornflour and water mixture. Return the casserole with the lid on to the oven for 15-20 minutes to thicken.   

Heat the butter in a small frying pan and gently fry the sage leaves until crisp.   

Remove the casserole from the oven, stir the contents and adjust the seasoning to taste with some pepper and salt if needed.

Serve the casserole decorated with the crisp sage leaves on top. Accompany with simply prepared potatoes, boiled or mashed, green vegetables and some crusty bread. 

Food basket is the safest and most practical gift ideas for Christmas. Why? Because these are consumables and everybody has uses on them, may it be kitchen condiments, canned goods, sweets or anything munchables, lol,  and who can ever resists goodies more so if free, haha.  Anyways, if you’re unsure on what to give this Christmas try this gift idea. Big groceries and supermarkets have a ready-made gift baskets, you’ll just need to choose from them, but if you want to make your own, the better. You can do it with personal touch.

(image credit fr. giftbasketbounty.com)

Another easy to prepare and cook chicken recipe, ingredients are simple and readily available.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kilo chicken, boneless and cut into strips
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1cup onions cut into rings
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1/3 cup carrots, cut into strips
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsps chili garlic sauce

Cooking Method:

1. In  a bowl, combine soy sauce with sugar and sesame oil.
2. When mixed well, add chicken strips and marinade for a few minutes.
3. In a wok, heat oil and saute onions, peas and carrots.
4. Add in chicken, oyster sauce and chili garlic sauce
5.  Mix well and cook until done.
6. Serve with hot rice.

Chef Sandy Daza’s recipe

If we have garlic rice, this one is garlic beans. The cooking method is so easy and cooking time is quick.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tbsp. corn oil
• 250g Baguio beans, trimmed and washed
• 2 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Minced Garlic
• 1 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Premium oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp Xiao Xing
• 1/4 Lee Kum Kee XO sauce
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pan and saute garlic.
2. Add in beans and cook over high heat for a minute
3. Add in remaining ingredients and cook for 3 more minutes, tossing well while cooking
4. Serve while hot.

Fr. the Lee Kum Kee event by Chef Eugene Raymundo

Note: you can use any available brands in your place, the brand here is only a suggestion.  Happy eating!